The smartest city begins with shade
The Last Word: Urban intelligence gives us the capacity to redesign daily life before a changing, warming climate makes cities unliveable. On July 23, weather stations across Alicante province, where I had a chance to spend a couple of months this spring, recorded dew points close to 30°C. The town of Crevillent reached 29.8°C and […] The smartest city begins with shade was originally published…
The article discusses the importance of urban intelligence in adapting cities to a changing climate, using the example of Alicante, Spain. The city has faced extreme heat, with dew points reaching near 30°C, making it difficult for perspiration to cool the body. As a result, Alicante activated its red heat alert, closed parks and outdoor areas, and provided emergency provisions for those without shelter.
The article emphasizes that the real test of a smart city is not just its modern systems, but its ability to reinvent itself as conditions change. While cities often focus on reinvention as a branding exercise, true reinvention requires continuous consideration of what a place is for, whom it serves, and what must change for it to remain viable.
The article concludes by highlighting that technology is only useful when it serves a clear civic proposition, and cites a report from Boston Consulting Group's Intelligent Cities Index, which found that technology works best as part of a wider civic system, rather than in isolation.
Brief written by urgent.news from Emerging Europe's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
